Peter Wolf Crier “Inter-Be” Review

Peter Pisano has always had an ear for melodies. He made that much clear when his band the Wars of 1812 made permanent settlement on our Minnesota shores and quickly became a critically lauded fixture in the scene. The band had its shortcomings, but a lack of catchy hooks certainly wasn’t one of them. Now, after a self confessed creative drought, Pisano has channeled a violent outburst of songwriting into a new project, this time with a different Eau Claire expat, Brian Moen of Laarks. The project is called Peter Wolf Crier, and the duo has just released their debut album Inter-Be.

The record is loaded with Pisano-penned lyrics, with Moen helping out on instrumentation and (ostensibly) the occasional backup vocals. To anyone familiar with the Wars’ material, you may notice a few similarities. Like Wars, PWC definitely takes a few cues from the country and blues styles. Pisano’s high baritone is also impossible to mistake, perhaps making the two projects sound more alike than they really are. But in reality PWC is very much a different animal. It’s a less clean for starters. Where Wars are clear-eyed charmers, PWC takes a grittier bent, fuzzing out the lyrics with distortion and clouding the music with reverb. Perhaps the most marked change though is that Pisano sounds like he’s been in some real agony. Songs like “Hard as Nails” build in emotional fervor to a fevered pace before ending in a catharsis of high pitched wails. Others sound just plain down and out bluesy, like “Down Down Down” a bleak visceral descent that places Pisa’s sorrowful lyrics over relatively simple guitar chords and drums.

[group shot by Stacy Schwartz via MySpace]

Despite the low-fi austerity that sets the record’s mood, most of the work isn’t as sparse as the tone would suggest. Much of the record is very much fleshed out musically, with a layered fabric of instrumentation. “Untitled 101″ is a gorgeous mess of drums, keys, guitar, and piano that creates an intricate web upon which rests a simple love song. Similarly “You’re So High” utilizes keys, tambourine and twangy chords to a lovely effect. While the whole record is pretty strong, the most rewarding listens come at the very end with the great trio of tracks that round it off. “Playwright” and “In Response” are both terrific love hymns with just a hint of pop and a lot of melancholy, with the latter climaxing in a brilliant patina of howls and instrumentation. And the second to last song “Saturday Night” is a pure rode-hard-and-put-away-wet ballad complete with a ghostly backing chorus.

Twin Citians will be getting a chance to see Pisano and Moen perform these songs live, albeit via a somewhat unorthodox manner. The duo is taking up residency in an unknown house somewhere in the metro, and will be performing almost daily there as part of a performance art project “This is Not for You.” The project entails a partnership with local avant garde director Jeremy Catterton (Lamb Lays with Lion), and if it sounds a bit vague it’s because the whole thing is a pretty closely guarded secret. Upon buying a ticket one will find out the location of the house and will be able to attend this very much unique event. More information can be found here. I can’t really tell you much more about the rest of the project, but if Inter-Be is any indicator, I would recommend it based on the music alone.